About Us

The Arab Development Portal (ADP) is an initiative of the Coordination Group of Arab, National and Regional Development Institutions (CG), the Islamic Development Bank and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The initiative aims to enhance the knowledge of people on development in the Arab region.

Data and knowledge resources on development issues in the Arab World are often outdated, of irregular reliability, and fragmented across multiple international, regional and local sources. By having access to and effectively using knowledge resources, individuals, firms and communities can improve their individual and collective well-being, thereby contributing to sustainable development. At a time when the number of internet users in the Arab world is expected to reach 197 million by 2017, a penetration of over 51 percent up from 32 percent in 2012, investing in an open online platform offers a unique opportunity to capitalize on this unprecedented increase in internet activity.

ADP is a comprehensive, one-stop-shop knowledge resource that aims to improve the scope, depth, reliability, and availability of high-quality development knowledge to support development progress in the Arab region. It is a bilingual – Arabic and English – online knowledge platform that includes a unique database, advanced tools for data browsing, extraction, and visualization, and a rich pool of additional resources, covering twelve key development topics across all Arab countries. Currently, its database contains more than 2,000 indicators extracted from national statistical offices and international organizations. Its resource repository is home to over 1,000 publications.

Members of the ADP Strategic Advisory Board

Mouna Cherkaoui, is a Professor of Economics at the University Mohamed V , Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences in Rabat Agdal since 1989. Mouna Cherkaoui holds a Masters and a PHD in Economics with a specialization in international trade and finance obtained at Arizona State University. She is currently a member of the Economic Research Forum (ERF). She was a member of the Advisory Committee on Economic Research and Policy Analysis on gender (GERPA) of the World Bank. She previously served as an Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Her research interest includes international economic issues but also issues of poverty and inequality. She has been invited as a teacher and researcher to many universities such as the University Paris Dauphine, University of Montreal, Duke University and Arizona State University. She conducted research and consultations for various national and international organizations such as UNCTAD, UNDP and the World Bank. She also coordinated a number of research projects related to international trade, pro-poor growth and migration.

Atif Kubursi, is a Professor Emeritus of Economics at McMaster University. He is also President of Econometric Research Limited. In 1982, he joined the United Nations Industrial Organization as Senior Development Officer. Since then he worked as a team leader of several UNIDO missions to Indonesia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sudan, and Egypt. In 2006 he was appointed Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA).
He has published extensively in the areas of macroeconomics, economic development strategies, international trade, impact analysis and regional planning with special emphasis on the environment, tourism and industrial development. He has frequently lectured on globalization issues, economic development, oil and industrialization, impact of tourism on provincial and local economies, political economy of development, Arab affairs and on environment-economy linkages.He has published 10 books and over 250 journal articles and technical reports.
Dr. Kubursi also taught economics at Purdue University in Indiana, USA, was a senior visiting scholar at Cambridge University, UK., and lectured and consulted at Harvard. As a professor of economics who has studied international trade for the last 40 years, what Canada is facing today with respect to renegotiating NAFTA is not surprising but certainly represents a stark contrast with the past record of the American/Canadian trade relationship.
Nationality: Lebanese

Abdel Aziz Maalmi, is the Director General of the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS) since August 2012. He holds an Engineer Diploma in statistics from the National Institute in Statistics and Applied Economic (INSEA). He previously served as the Director General of Morocco’s INSEA (2008-2012), the Central Director of the Statistical Office in Morocco (2001-2006) and as the Regional Director for the government authority in charge of planning for several districts in Morocco (1984-2001). Dr. Maalmi was also appointed as the deputy president of the quality union for culture and information, president of the national committee on the contest for admission to the higher schools of engineers and other related school, president of the Arab Statisticians Union, president of the AITRS Board of Trustees and member in the Executive Committee for the Eurostat program. Dr. Maalmi was also an instructor of Economic Statistics in the University of Mohamed Ben Abdullah and Mohamed the 1st. Nationality: Moroccan

Dr. Abdulrazak Al-Faris,works at present as Director of Economic Planning Division in Policies and Economic Studies Sector at Dubai Economy (DED). He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics, from University of Oxford, April 1990. He Occupied several Academic and official positions, including; Professor of Economics, UAE University, Associate Dean for Scientific Research, College of Business, UAE University, Deputy Secretary General for Economic Affairs and Chief Economic Counselor, Dubai Economic Council, Alternate Executive Director, IMF (1999-2001), Visiting Scholar at Oxford University, MIT, Dundee University, and OPEC. Prior to joining Academia, he held several governmental positions in the UAE, including: Assistant under Secretary for Planning, Ministry of Education (1980-1982). In addition, he worked as a consultant to: UNDP, Crown Prince Court (Abu Dhabi), Ministry of Economy, National Assemble, Dubai municipality, Department of Economy (Dubai), and Economic Advisor to Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Tanmia. His research interests include: Energy Market, with special emphasis on oil and Gas, Economics of Labor Markets, Education and Human Resources, Poverty and Income Distribution, and Macroeconomics Policies and Public Finance. He published 14 books, and numerous articles in international refereed Journals in both English and Arabic, and attended More than 200 International and regional conferences, Forums, and Symposium.

Ahmed Zahran, is the co-founder and CEO of KarmSolar, an Egyptian company established in 2011, that aims to move communities away from centralised power to sustainable, localized and independent alternatives. KarmSolar has won several technology competitions and become Egypt’s largest private off-grid solar integrator and one of the leading companies in solar energy applications in the country. Ahmed worked for Shell as a finance adviser to the European Emissions Trading System. He then worked at the Egypt Kuwait Holding Company as the business development manager for renewable energy and clean development mechanisms, establishing the company’s carbon trading and renewable energy business. Education: MSc in Development Economics from SOAS University of London.
Nationality: Egyptian